Chapter one

I looked at the green paper rested on my desk, the only distance between me and freedom was the clock staring at me in front of this room. We were many, about eighteen inside this classroom killing ourselves with these papers, they said there was no choice but pass otherwise we would never amount to anything in life. I was confused that now more than ever I had to make or break my life, how was I supposed to do that in just an hour and a half when I had four years to do that and I didn't. I was particularly poor (it's the only word I can think of) in chemistry that I would not balance a chemical equation in form four. This made my chemistry teacher think I would never be anything in life, this book is for those, like my chemistry teacher who thinks that chemistry or any other way of measuring how smart one is can be used to determine how successful or unsuccessful one is. This book is also for those who can relate to my story, it's for the good friends I know who were not good in class but had a passion for something.
    Unlike me, all the other students in this room were good in science and mathematics, which made them so confident that they'd jump shouting curses to KNEC for not being serious but giving them straight 'A's'. This irritated me but I was not alone, Judy was the only other person in this room who related to my story. We were friends for these last two years of high school, it's surprising how we loved the same things; for instance we both loved English and Acting too which made up compatible, I can remember all the moments she laughed her ribs out when we practiced drama or when we would compete on reading during English classes.
   I looked at the clock one more time then turned behind me and smiled at Judy who returned the smile with her iconic sweet smile. It was ten minutes to freedom, I counted every second of those ten minutes, and as the clock hit 10:49 am, I knew I was done here it was time for living the real life, I was frightened and happy at the same time, I was afraid that the words of my chemistry teacher and my perennial enemy who doubled as the school deputy principal, Mr Muturi who said I would not go far might be a prophecy which would come to pass in the near future. Mr Muturi would not understand how I would read through pages after pages of scripts and narrate word by word but would not do the same in chemistry, he was the referee who always caught me off side all the time and I can remember how he reduced me to a school worker without a salary because I either had a slasher on my hands or a jembe on my shoulders atleast thrice a week.
      Ngenia Secondary school, was the place I called home for half a decade, I had no choice but love this place that taught me almost everything I know. I can't remember much of my earlier years in primary school and I don't think the little I remember would be applicable in the purpose of this book, I however went to Kalalu Primary school which like all other primary schools in remote laikipia county had nothing happening to develop a child's brain and get them to think critically. I would not write a creative composition in class eight let alone thinking I'd one day write a novel about my life. Ngenia was different, here I learnt how to construct an English sentence and loved it, it is still in Ngenia that I knew about debate and drama..